Chapter Seven
When the sun rose in the morning, Diaval and Aurora remained sound asleep, sun blocked out by the wings covering the window. The rustling of feathers however, did wake the raven, and when he saw Maleficent /standing/ near the window, wings fully extended, he grinned and stood.
"You're up."
"Thank goodness. Any longer in that bed and I was going to go crazy."
Standing, Diaval walked over and stood next to her, gazing out the window at the landscape below them. He reached over and took her hand, lifting it and kissing the back of it with a smile, coaxing a small smile to her lips as well.
"What now? I'm sure the men who took you will see us rescuing you an act of war..."
"If they attack...then we fight. I had hoped the peace would last longer than this."
Seeing the fleeting look of sadness pass through her eyes, he stepped over and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him with a sigh. Giving in, she let her wings drop, resting her forehead against his shoulder.
"Perhaps it would have been better if you hadn't shown up."
"Don't."
A near growl escaped the raven, and he curled his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
"Don't you dare say that. The Moors would be lost without you, not to mention Aurora and myself."
She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against his with a small smile. Hearing the soft conversation and rustling of clothes, Aurora blinked herself awake, and got up when she saw them by the window.
"Godmother, you're up!"
"Morning, beastie."
A hug greeted her, and the three of them made their way downstairs to the courtyard, where they relaxed in the sun before the fairy and the raven headed back to the Moors. Feeling the air rushing through her wings again without feeling as if she would fall from the sky any moment, caused her to let out a happy laugh. Diaval cawed happily from beside her, flying close to let his wings brush against hers, with Maleficent turning her head to smile at him. It wasn't long before they'd landed near their tree, sitting down at the base and curling together.
"I love you."
"I know, birdie."
He pressed his lips to her temple and closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the Moors relax him. Not long after they sat, the lumbering tree guardian Balthazar came through the clearing, stopping to gaze down at her.
"I'm fine, Balthazar. Thank you."
He nodded his head, a low, soft growl escaping him as he walked by, happy to see his friend back in her rightful place. Diaval chuckled and looked down at her.
"Your people certainly love you."
The fairy smiled, absently reaching up to feel the notch in her horn, anger bubbling up inside her again. The raven pulled her hand back down, giving it a gentle squeeze before turning his eyes to the injury he'd missed. The indentation was barely noticeable, but his sharp eyes let him see it as easily as if the horn had been removed completely. A small group of flower fairies fluttered by the pair, greeting them as they passed by, one dropping a small, colorful flower in her lap. She smiled and laid the flower on the ground, using her magic to cause it to take root and grow.
"This tree is going to be the most brightly decorated thing in the Moors before long."
Diaval chuckled and re-adjusted himself against the tree, gently running his fingers through her feathers, plucking dirt and any other foreign objects from them. Maleficent shifted and laid her head in his lap, stretching her wings slightly to give him better access. After about ten minutes of clearing twigs and dirt from her wings, his fingers moved to her hair, pulling it back away from her face. She shifted a bit again, laying one of her hands on his leg next to her head. The fairy drifted off, wings moving to wrap around herself. The raven gently moved out from under her, letting her head rest on the ground, before he shifted into his true self and flew off.
The fairy didn't wake, simply muttered to herself and curled up into a ball. Diaval flew through the sky, his sharp eyes watching the ground beneath him for any signs of an advancing army, and continued his flight back towards the kingdom that had kidnapped Maleficent months before. Back in the Moors, the fairy found herself caught in a vivid nightmare, which she woke from with a strangled yell. She sat upright and her wings immediately responded to her discomfort by wrapping around her like a feathered cocoon. When she realized she was alone, her eyes began to search the surrounding area.
"Diaval?"
With some considerable effort, Maleficent rose to her feet, looking around to see if she could find the raven anywhere near-by, and when she didn't see him she started to walk towards the lake where they liked to relax. An odd soreness had settled in her body as she'd slept after being rescued, a soreness she didn't mention to anyone, and by the time she reached the lake, she groaned and collapsed to her knees. After re-adjusting herself so her legs were curled up underneath her, the fairy allowed herself to let a few tears fall. The Moorland people watched her from a distance, each feeling that she needed to be alone for the moment, though each feeling the desire to make sure their friend was alright. Hours passed, and when Diaval didn't return, a worried frown wound onto her lips.
"Where is he..."
The raven in question had flown to the castle of the enemy King, and perched carefully, out of sight, on a window. He listened intently as the men within argued about the possibility of staging an attack on the Moors and it's neighboring kingdom. Anger bristled his feathers, and he shifted on the windowsill before flying off again. After his departure, a mysterious fire started in the building that housed the majority of the castle's food and weapons, no one seeing the raven flying away from it. As the sun set over the land, Maleficent turned her eyes to the sky, having not moved from her spot next to the water, letting the splashing of the waterfall relax her again.
"I'll look for him in the morning if he's not back."
The fairy yawned lightly, refusing to fall asleep again, lest the nightmare from before return. Every time her eyes would fall shut, she forced herself awake again, finally getting up to take a walk. Near midnight, a familiar caw was heard on the wind as Diaval returned, landing on the ground and shifting back into his human self.
"You're still awake?"
Maleficent jumped, wings flapping a bit in surprise at the voice that had startled her out of her thoughts.
"Diaval! Where have you been?"
"I went to do a little spying on my own. The men that took you...their King is planning an attack...course...it'll be delayed now since they have no food or weapons to speak of."
"What? What did you do, birdie?"
"Set fire to their food stores and armory."
"Are you insane?! You could have been killed, you stupid creature!"
"Hey...what's wrong with you?"
"Me? What's wrong with ME? You're the one who just risked your life to start a few fires!"
"To protect you and our kingdoms!"
"I don't need you to protect me, damn it!"
"Says the woman who was captured by four humans!"
The moment the words left his lips, Diaval froze, knowing he may have very well gone too far. The fairy's wings stiffened, muscles tense, and she turned to face him, her eyes hard. He faltered a bit under the stare, peering down at the ground, heart hammering in his chest.
"Leave."
The raven's eyes lifted and locked on the retreating form of the horned fairy.
"Wha...Maleficent wait, I'm sorry!"
"I said LEAVE, Diaval."
Un-able to tear his eyes away from her as she walked away, he opened his mouth to protest, only to find his voice gone as he was transformed against his will into a bird again. He gave a loud, desperate caw and fluttered around her head, trying to get her attention.
"Leave me be, you insufferable little creature!"
Feeling his heart drop into his stomach, he gave a soft, heart-broken caw before flying away. Almost as soon as she felt he was gone, Maleficent collapsed to the ground, a sharp pain making itself known within her body. Her wings curled around her body, and the skies above her opened up as rain began to fall, thunder rumbling the sky and lightning flashing in the distance. The fairy pressed her forehead into a near-by tree, resting her hands on the bark, and allowing her sobs to finally escape into the unyielding wood. Once she had calmed down, she stood on shaky legs and moved back to her tree, but couldn't bring herself to fly up to the nest. The fairy simply laid down in the grass, resting her head on her arms and staring blankly at the waterfall in front of her.
When the sun came up the next morning, Maleficent made no effort to move, the internal wounds caused during her imprisonment making walking near impossible for the fairy. She let out a sigh and sat up, wincing before leaning back against the tree, letting her wings stay wrapped around her, the warmth and softness of the feathers comforting her and calming her mind. Forcing herself to stand, she started walking towards Aurora's castle, suddenly feeling the need to talk to the blond Queen. It wasn't long before she'd given in to the pain walking caused, and flew the rest of the way, landing on the balcony of the girl's window, knocking softly. Aurora blinked, having just entered her room, and moved over to open the window.
"Godmother?"
"Do you have a moment to talk, beastie?"
"Of course. Come in, sit. What's wrong?"
Maleficent entered the room and closed the window behind her, the temperature growing colder with the approaching winter, and sat down on the edge of the bed. With a deep sigh of resignation, the horned fairy began to explain what Diaval had told her before she'd sent him away, and the girl's eyes widened.
"An attack...oh no...what do we do?!"
"I don't know, beastie. If we attack first, we give the impression that the war was our fault, our idea. If we give them a chance to gather their forces and re-group...we stand the chance of losing."
Shifting a bit, the fairy winced and immediately stilled, catching Aurora's attention.
"What's wrong? Are you in pain?"
"Only slightly...it's nothing, really."
"Does it have something to do with why you send Diaval away?"
"What?" was the fairy's response, turning wide green eyes to the blond sitting next to her.
"He...he came to see me, and said you called him an `insufferable little creature` and told him to leave. I thought you loved him."
Maleficent didn't respond, only gazed down at her hands, having missed the little bird more than she'd care to admit the night before. She'd grown used to sleeping in his arms, and found it near impossible to do so without him, and with nightmares added in, she hadn't slept at all.
"I...did send him away." she said, avoiding the last part of Aurora's statement about loving the raven.
"Why?"
"I'd rather not talk about it, beastie."
"Alright...but if you change your mind, I'm here."
The blond smiled and kissed her forehead before leaving the room, pulling the door closed gently behind her. The conversation with the Queen had left the fairy wondering if sending Diaval away was the right decision, and she got up, moving out onto the balcony, watching the sky. Nearly a month passed before she saw the raven again, and it was only when she found him laying on the ground near their tree in the Moors, exhausted. Her eyes widened a bit and she immediately moved to kneel next to him.
"Diaval! What are you doing here?"
"I...came to warn you and Aurora. The army is nearly here...I flew as fast as I could when I spotted them..."
"You're exhausted..."
"Why do you care? You told me to leave you alone, remember?"
His words caused a sick feeling to form in her stomach, and she gently reached out to brush his hair out of his face. The raven sat up and pushed her hand away, leveling her with a hard stare.
"Tell me why."
"I can't."
He huffed and stood, brushing off his clothes and heading for the border to go to the blond's castle. Maleficent stood as well and moved to follow him, faltering a bit and catching herself on the tree. Diaval had to stop himself from turning around and rushing to her side, and forced his feet to continue towards the castle, eventually shifting and flying instead. The fairy took off after him, intent on talking to him, trying to explain what was going on, when she caught the sound of hoofbeats on the ground.
"Oh no..."
Flying as fast as her wings could carry her, she turned around and dove back into the Moors, gathering her guards and warriors, before gliding back towards the castle. She landed in the courtyard, her small army standing guard outside the gates, ready for anything.
"Aurora!"
"I know...Diaval told me they're on their way."
"They're not only on their way, they're here."
AN: CLIFFHANGER! MWAHAHAHA! Ahem. So, how will this war turn out? Will Maleficent and Diaval mend their relationship? Keep reading to find out! Reviews make me a happy wolf!